RJ Barrett made a statement in the Knicks' narrow overtime loss to the Lakers on Saturday.
In front of a primetime national audience in the United States, Barrett erupted for a career-high 36 points to go along with eight rebounds and five assists while taking on the defensive assignment of guarding LeBron James at times.
NBA LEAGUE PASS: Sign up to unlock live out-of-market games (7-day free trial)
Among those impressed by Barrett's career performance was James, who finished with a triple-double in his first action in nearly two weeks.
Following the game, James spoke glowingly of the 21-year-old, detailing a few of Barrett's big moments from the night before sharing that the origin of their relationship dates back several years to a summer workout in Barrett's native Toronto.
"I think he had 17 in the first quarter if I'm not mistaken and he hit some big-time shots down the stretch," James began.
BARRETT... THREE-POINTER... BANG!
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) February 6, 2022
RJ BARRETT TIES THE GAME! pic.twitter.com/D3TacJVWrV
"I've been knowing RJ for quite a while now," James continued, "I was in Toronto during the summertime, I think he was a high school junior or a senior and there was a call to my agent Rich (Paul), that there was a kid in Toronto that's possibly next.
"It was the offseason, I was in Toronto, just having a good time in Toronto and I was just going to the gym to get some work in and they called Rich and asked could [Barrett] join and I was like 'absolutely.'"
LeBron’s postgame remarks on RJ Barrett after his 36-point career high outing: pic.twitter.com/8LNXxPlTQe
— The Knicks Wall (@TheKnicksWall) February 6, 2022
James added that after that workout, he continued to follow Barrett during his high school career and at Duke, even attending a game at the University of Virginia to watch Barrett and college teammates Cam Reddish and Zion Williamson.
LeBron and Rondo in the house for Duke-Virginia. pic.twitter.com/bFgHG5rBxQ
— ESPN (@espn) February 9, 2019
As James knows a thing or two about producing at a young age in the league, perhaps his biggest compliments were of Barrett's ability to do so in a tough New York market.
He's young so he's going to have bumps and bruises throughout the course of [his] career while you're young, you're figuring out the game, you're figuring out the speed, you're figuring out the tempo and things of that nature but I think he's handled it extremely well, especially being in a different light and a different heat, when you play for the Knicks and I think he's handled it extremely well.
Following the game, Barrett and James shared a moment on the floor before heading to their respective locker rooms.
MORE: Knicks' Julius Randle responds to recent trade rumors
Barrett, who is averaging a career-best 17.9 points through 46 games this year, has already surpassed the 30-point mark six times this season after doing so just once last season.
With New York looking to make a postseason push during the stretch run, Barrett must continue his emergence towards stardom.
